


Well...Perfect

by lizloz



Category: ATEEZ (Band), The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Crossover, Inspired by The Umbrella Academy, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:55:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25747750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lizloz/pseuds/lizloz
Summary: Seonghwa Hargreeves returns to The Umbrella Academy for the funeral of his late father. As he reunites with his seven brothers, he is reminded of the past and makes a shocking discovery.Ateez x Umbrella Academy crossover (the powers are slightly different than the TV show)Seongjoong focus
Relationships: Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa
Comments: 10
Kudos: 40





	Well...Perfect

**Author's Note:**

> After finishing Season 2 of the Umbrella Academy whilst listening to Ateez, I was inspired to write this! Please let me know in the comments what you think.

**_‘We invite you to the funeral of the late Reginald Hargreeves’._ **

I held the now crumpled invitation in my hand as I looked up and the grand manor house in front of me. It had been a long time since I had been here - seven years in fact. For some reason the building seemed familiar, but also completely alien, the kind of structure you see in period dramas on the TV and think that nobody could possibly ever live in. But I had. A strong wind blew around me, making the autumn leaves that had already fallen to the ground swirl and dance.  
“Well, here goes nothing.” I murmured.

As the sound of the ancient for knocker rang out, I wondered how many of my brothers were already here - if any of them would show up at all. There wasn’t much love lost between them and our father. I wondered for about three seconds, before a whoosh of fast moving air flew from the crack under the door and I heard the lock turn.

“Hi Seonghwa.” Yeosang looked the same as he had seven years ago. His mousy features had filled out slightly, but he still held the same youthful exuberance.  
“Hi.” I replied. As I stepped inside the house felt oddly cold. Was anyone still living here? “Where is everyone?” I asked. Yeosang shrugged his shoulders.  
“Beats me. I got here first.”  
“Of course you did.” If my brother got my joke, he didn’t show it.   
“Do you want a drink?” he asked. Before I had even answered, there was another rush of air as he shot off to the kitchen. When he returned a mere second later with a glass half full of whiskey and ice, the wave of air blew my hair back like a wind machine.  
“Here you go.” The glass was placed in my hand and he smiled. “We can drink this stuff now.” I nodded my head, taking a deep sip and then wincing at the taste. Back as a teenager, the whiskey in fathers cupboard had been an unobtainable goal. Sadly now, despite it being right in front of me, it didn’t feel like a victory.   
“So how have you been?” Yeosang asked. I was about to reply when the sound of voices came into hearing.

“It’s ok to be nervous, we haven’t been here in a long time.”  
“Yunho I swear to god if you don’t get out of my head I will zap you to oblivion-“ Yeosang’s face lit up and he zipped to the door, throwing it open so the two approaching figures were visible to us.   
“Hey!” He exclaimed. I craned my neck to look around the doorframe and took in the sight of my other brothers. Yunho seemed to have grown even more than he had before - his gangly frame almost taller than the giant doorway - and Wooyoung’s jaw had become angular and defined. The black haired man had his fists clenched and I figured he was reaching his limit.   
“Sangy!” As Yeosang whizzed forward at the speed of light he crashed into Yunho and almost knocked the tall boy flying. They embraced deeply and I felt a slight pang of regret that I had not been shown the same honest affection.   
“Look at you!” Yunho said excitedly when they broke away, pushing his brother back slightly to get a better look at his frame “have you been working out?”  
“I’m a mailman.” Yeosang said proudly, adjusting his collar with a smug expression. “The others can’t figure out how I get the deliveries done so fast.” As Yunho responded with an excited slap to his brother’s shoulder, I caught eye contact with Wooyoung.  
“Hey.” I mouthed. Wooyoung simply scowled, still flexing his clenched fists.   
“And you…” Suddenly I realised that Yunho had directed his attention to me. As we met eyes, I saw him staring concentratedly at me for a long few seconds, before he smiled and nodded his head.  
“Hongjoong must not be here yet,” the tall boy said. My eyebrows furrowed.  
“How do you know?”  
“Because Seonghwa is still thinking rational thoughts.” Instantly my whole posture tightened. As Yeosang and Yunho burst into laughter I found my own fists clenching.  
“Stay out of my head Yunho.” I growled angrily.  
“My sentiments exactly.” Wooyoung suddenly replied, pushing past me to get inside the house. 

*

As we all entered the house and began catching up, gradually more of our brothers arrived. Mingi almost destroyed half the wall as he emphatically smashed and climbed through one of the dining hall windows. As he picked both Wooyoung and Yeosang up at the same time in a giant bear hug, I had shaken my head and imagined what a nightmare his landlord probably had. San also made a traditional entrance - materialising out of nowhere to steal the punchline of a joke Yunho was telling and causing even Yeosang to spill his drink. It was strange to see my brothers again, and none of us really knew how to act around each other, but it was still strangely nice.

*

“Is that all you’ve got?” Mingi laughed, throwing his head back as the table creaked underneath his elbow ominously. The anguished cry of Wooyoung could be heard as he heaved against his brother’s unyielding hand.   
“Oh yeah?” Suddenly blue waves of electricity flowed from the dark-haired boy’s fingers, enveloping both of them in a wavy haze. Mingi’s grin faltered.  
“Hey! That’s cheating!” I switched my gaze to the cat and mouse game that San and Yeosang were playing - both of them visible only in quick flashes as they both teleported and shot around the room at lightening speed. How old were we all again?  
“I’d say mentally this house makes us all about seven.” Yunho replied, startling me with his response. When I glared at him he held up his hands.  
“Sorry,” he said with a smirk, “your thoughts are so damn loud I can’t help it.”  
“Did you ever manage to get a girlfriend?” I replied spitefully, taking another sip of what was my third glass of whiskey. “Or did you put them all off with your inability to mind your own business?”  
“Hey,” my brother replied, sipping his own drink and momentarily lifting his feet away from the coffee table so that Yeosang could whizz by, “I’ll have you know I had girls clamouring for me to find out their innermost secrets in bed.” As I pretended to vomit and Yunho laughed, suddenly there was a knock at the door.  
“It’s Pogo.” Yunho said matter-of-factly, looking back at me with a lazy flick of his wrist. “Go answer it will you?” I finished off the last of my drink and jumped to my feet, realising as I stumbled slightly that I probably should eat something before the service. With the sound of crackling electricity and Mingi’s echoing laughter behind me as I walked, I grabbed the enormous door handle and pulled it open.

“Hello Po-“ My words halted. I guess I should have noticed the change in the weather outside, how the clouds had become darker and the sunlight shrouded. But now he was here, in front of me.   
“Hi.” Hongjoong said. 

Instantly I was transported back to ten years ago. 

*--*--*--*

“The first rule of combat is to figure out your enemy’s weakness as quickly as possible.” The eight of us stood in a line in the giant cavernous basement - the room that had become our training ground for 6 out of the 7 days of the week. In front of us, Father paced like a general, his footsteps clipped and regimented, as he barked his speech to us.   
“Once the weakness is established you can use it to your advantage and dispatch them with immediate effect.” Suddenly in front of us eight civilians appeared. All of them were bound and gagged - the look of complete terror in their eyes. I instinctively moved forwards, but a hand reached out to grab mine and caution me - Hongjoong’s.   
“Imagine that these-“ Father walked past one of the civilians and tapped her knee with his cane, causing the girl to let out a muffled scream, “-are your enemies.”  
“But these are innocent people!” Everyone’s eyes shot towards me. Yunho was shaking his head slowly, his eyes telling me that he understood, whilst Wooyoung looked filled with unbridled rage.  
“ENOUGH!” Father’s voice rang out and we all jumped backwards. “The last number to dispatch their enemy will miss dinner. Off you go.” 

With a flick of his wrist, suddenly all of the civilians were set free. Most of them immediately began to run - their cries desperate and terrified. One got barely two steps when San appeared directly in front of him, their noses almost touching.  
“Hello.” My brother said with a smile. As the civilian screamed, he teleported behind them and swiftly karate chopped a pressure point, causing the boy to crumple to the floor. Next I heard a scream from a boy behind me. Turning around I saw Mingi spinning his civilian above his head like a basketball. As he toyed effortlessly with him, the flash of electricity buzzed to the left and another person fell swiftly to the floor.   
“Looks like you guys are gonna be hungry!” Wooyoung exclaimed in celebration, shocking open the basement door and then slamming it shut behind him as he exited. All around me were the sounds of combat. Yeosang was trying to stun his civilian by putting them through extreme g-force, whilst Yunho was mentally torturing his, by predicting his escape moves seconds before he did them. The cacophony of noise disorientated me and I put my hands on either side of my head, looking downwards. 

“Hey…” suddenly I felt a hand on my arm and looked up to see Hongjoong next to me. His gaze instantly calmed me a little, but I could also feel a current of wind building in the room around us. “You can do this,” he said comfortingly, “all you have to do is tell them to go to sleep.” I looked around for my civilian, spotting them amongst the chaos frantically trying to open the door that Wooyoung had exited through earlier.   
“Ok…” I murmured to myself. Hongjoong smiled, then lifted his head towards the sky and closed his eyes. I walked forward through the building windstorm, reaching my civilian and placing a hand on their shoulder.

“PLEASE! STAY AWAY FROM ME!” As the girl shrieked and tried to move away, the fear in her voice made me shudder. I pushed past the feeling and turned her body towards me, achieving eye contact.   
“I heard a rumour that it’s ok.” Instantly her whole body relaxed. The complete abandonment of her struggle jarred me slightly, but I shook my head to reorient myself and continued to hold her gaze. “You have nothing to fear.” I took a step away from the door and the girl followed me - her eyes fixed on mine and glazed over - trance like. As we moved further away from the door a lazy smile of complete relaxation spread across her face and I let her rest softly against the cold basement wall.  
“I heard a rumour that you won't panic.” I heard another scream behind me and turned to see Jongho standing over a fallen object, laughing manically. When I looked back at my civilian I saw that from our loss of eye contact she had begun to struggle again, so quickly grabbed her face and put her under the trance once more.

“I’m sorry!” The realisation that I could say anything right now and she would do it, filled me with more terror than I had ever experienced. Father had plucked her from the street, bound and gagged her and forced her to undergo torture from super-powered individuals. What had she done to deserve it? The tornado of air from Hongjoong behind us had begun to build, so much so that I knew I had to act fast before my voice couldn’t be heard and I lost my power.   
“Listen.” This time I grabbed her hand, dragging her back towards the door and then holding both hands on either side of her head, making sure she would hear.  
“I heard a rumour, that once you leave this building, you won’t remember any of this. But I want you to run, as fast as you can, and don’t stop until you make it home.” 

As I wrenched open the door and pushed her outside, I watched the civilian stumble forward and rush down the long corridor leading to the main house. She made it almost to the end… before suddenly a bolt of electricity shocked her and she fell straight to the floor. For a second there was silence, even the room behind me now quiet. Then Wooyoung and Father appeared at the end of the corridor, my brother dusting off his hands with a smile and Father shaking his head.  
“Number Three…” he said disdainfully, “I am disappointed.”

*

The sound of laughter inside the house filtered out in short bursts, carried by the wind and swirling around me as I sat on my perch high up in the branches. As I listened to San and Mingi fight yet again, suddenly there was a voice behind me.  
“They are such idiots.” I jolted forward in shock, almost falling forward out of the tree, so a hand grabbed the back of my shirt and pulled me back.  
“Jesus!” I exclaimed. I heard a chuckle, and then Hongjoong appeared beside me. “Can you give me a warning next time?”   
“I did.” My brother pointed up towards the sky and I saw that the wind had completely stopped.  
“I mean a normal warning.”   
“Sorry,” Hongjoong said, nudging me with his shoulder cheekily, “this family doesn’t do normal.” 

I let out a long sigh, closing my eyes and imagining what I would be doing right now if I had never been adopted. I could be in the home of a loving couple, doing algebra for my homework instead of manipulation and learning about the vessels for maximum blood loss. When I opened my eyes Hongjoong was looking at me knowingly.   
“Are you thinking about the couple again?” He asked. I scowled, making him laugh and nudge me again.  
“You hang around with Yunho too much,” was my slightly embarrassed reply. Hongjoong settled down beside me, our knees touching and the sound of our synchronised breathing audible in the still air.

“You did the right thing.” My brother turned towards me suddenly, taking my hand so a thrill of something rushed through me and made me catch my breath. “Dad had no right to make us do that, to…hurt those people.” I knew Hongjoong was right. But it still didn’t erase the look of complete disgust on Father’s face that was burnt into my brain, the way he had thrown me into my room and screamed about my ignorance.  
“How was dinner?” I replied, wanting to change the subject. Hongjoong laughed.  
“Mingi broke another fork again.” We both laughed.   
“He really has no concept of his strength does he?”  
“Not at all. Dad gave us another lecture about pushing aside our personal feelings and concentrating on achieving the end goal. ‘Self doubt is more crippling than-“  
“-even the sharpest knife.” We finished the quote in unison - reciting from years of repetition and memory. As the words left my lips I let me head drop towards the floor, looking at my feet.   
“You didn’t miss much believe me,” Hongjoong finished. Suddenly my stomach growled loudly. My hands shot up in embarrassment, wrapping around my waist so my brother laughed and delved his hand into his pocket.   
“I saved this for you.” He said, bringing out something wrapped in an embroidered napkin. As he handed it over I unwrapped the package and revealed a piece of banana cake. “It’s not much, I’m sor-“ Hongjoong’s words were cut off by me throwing my arms around him, hugging him tightly, before I realised myself and pulled away quickly. I shoved the entire piece of cake into my mouth, letting out a noise of pleasure as I realised how hungry I had actually been.  
“Wow.” Hongjoong said, laughing as I chewed, crumbs spilling out of my mouth. 

*

We sat in silence for a while, me chewing and Hongjoong staring out into the night sky. Sometimes I longed for Yunho’s power - to be able to delve into his mind and see what he was thinking. When I finished my mouthful I decided to go about it the regular route.  
“What are you thinking?” Hongjoong turned to look at me, and for a second his eyes glinted like stars in the moonlight.  
“I’m thinking about two years from now,” he said, choosing his words carefully, “when we can finally escape from here. You and me.”  
“You and me?” Hongjoong was surprised at my confusion.  
“Of course. We’ll always be together.” Before I had a chance to respond, my brother suddenly closed his eyes and titled his head upwards. The stillness in the air disappeared - instead the sound of rumbling thunder grew and dark clouds manifested in the air. I gripped hold of the tree branch to begin climbing down, but Hongjoong shook his head.  
“Wait.” 

A flash of lightening shot through the sky, then all of a sudden pouring rain began to thunder downwards from the sky. Inside the house there were whoops and hollers - the windows of the lower floor were thrust open and I saw Mingi poke his head out, opening his mouth to catch the rain drops as they fell. I looked upwards too, waiting for the rain drops to filter through the tree branches and begin to soak us, before I realised that there were none coming from above.   
“Hongjoong…?” As I turned back to my brother, I saw he was grinning. “Did you…?”  
“I know how much you like rain,” he replied, his posture more relaxed now, but his palms still facing upwards, controlling the storm subtly, “so I worked on it with Mom.” A strange emotion coursed through me - one that I recognised the meaning of but couldn’t quite define. Leaning forwards I stretched my hand out into the rain, pulling it backwards and forwards from the invisible barrier that Hongjoong had created around the tree we were sitting in.   
“Do you like it?” I spun my head around, noticing the slight nervousness in his tone.  
“Like it?” I replied, “I love it!” Hongjoong’s shoulders sagged in relief.  
“Good.” As Yeosang zipped around the garden below us and Wooyoung complained about the rules of conduction, suddenly the scared eyes of the civilian girl seemed very far away. 

*--*--*--*

“Seonghwa?” Abruptly I was brought back to the present. Letting out a small noise of surprise, I focused on Hongjoong again and saw him looking at me with a mixture of concern and disapproval.  
“Are you drunk?” He asked. Leaning against the door frame, I turned to look back at Yunho, who was currently grinning from ear to ear.  
“I fucking hate you.” I said loudly.

*

Hongjoong’s arrival brought everyone back together again - as we all sat around the coffee table I realised that I was definitely the brother that had received the coldest welcome. Did everyone really resent me that much from training? Wooyoung’s apathy wasn’t surprising - he had always despised what he called my ‘lack of backbone’ and also did everything he could to assert himself as Father’s favourite, but the others I was surprised at. Hongjoong had sat down on the couch next to me, but I noticed the distance he put between us and felt a sharp pain in my ribs. 

“So how’s life?” The man in question asked everyone. Mingi began talking about his reigning champion status at the UFC and I zoned out, focusing instead on Hongjoong again. He had definitely changed - his hair was a different colour, his right eyebrow pierced and his fashion sense strikingly different - but there was still that same aura about him that remained etched in my brain…

*--*--*--*

“Shower time baby!”   
I could feel the back of my shirt sticking to me as I grabbed onto the bannister to haul myself up the stairs. Ahead of me Mingi and Jongho jostled against each other to reach the middle step, whilst San disappeared and then reappeared at the top of the staircase, causing everyone to groan in annoyance.  
“No fair!”  
“You snooze you lose!” When I finally reached the shower room the air was already thick with condensation. All my brothers were rapidly tugging off their clothes, eager to wash off the perspiration and soothe our aching muscles from hours of combat training.   
“Hwa!” Suddenly the sound of my name caught my attention. Hongjoong had entered behind me and placed his hand on my shoulder. “You did great today.” He said with a smile. Out of nowhere the insides of my gut suddenly twisted and my skin began to feel hot.   
“Really?” I replied. It was a lame response, the lamest of the lame. But Hongjoong continued to smile.   
“Of course. You really improved your upper cut.” Mingi and San had already entered the shower, the sound of whoops and shouts filtering through the misty air. As Hongjoong moved over to his peg suddenly the heat in my body grew and I no longer wanted to be there. 

“Seonghwa! Where are you going?” I heard Yeosang call out, but ignored him, turning and walking out of the shower room. I was beginning to feel relieved already, until I opened the door to the hallway and came face to face with Father.   
“Number Three?” Immediately I panicked.  
“Father! I…um…”  
“What are you doing?” No matter how many times I rehearsed them in my head, I could never get the witty, confident lines I so wanted to say out when faced with him. As my father took a step forward I found myself backing into the shower room again.   
“Combat training is over,” he said, pure logic and authority in his voice, “now you must shower.”  
“But I don’t…feel well…” I had reached the entrance to the changing room, my heels bumping into the wall so I stumbled and caused Father to sigh yet again at me.  
“Number Four!” Suddenly Hongjoong appeared. He had already removed his shirt, and the sight made me blush and look away. “Make sure Number Three showers, or you will both face the consequences.” I raised my hand in a pathetically feeble attempt to argue, but Father had already turned and walked out, slamming the door loudly behind him. 

“Are you ok Hwa?” Hongjoong’s voice made me turn around again. I went to respond, but found myself tongue tied, my stomach fluttering uncontrollably as I flicked my gaze across his collarbones.   
“Of course,” I managed to stutter eventually, pushing past my brother a little more roughly than I should have and stalking towards the clothes peg labelled 3, “why wouldn’t I be.”

It had happened all of a sudden. Until then Hongjoong had been nothing more to me than my best friend and brother. We had trained together, played pranks on our siblings, shared secrets together sitting in our favourite tree. I had counted on him for everything and him the same. Then, one day, everything had changed. I had pushed the feelings aside for many weeks, but now they were becoming hard to bear. 

“Are you coming in?” As I pulled off my shirt, I kept my eyes trained on the large number three in front of me and nodded my head. 

*--*--*--*

“Helloooo?” San’s face in front of mine made me lurch backwards in terror. As my spine hit the back of the sofa and my brother appeared back in his seat everyone laughed heartily.   
“Wow he is so drunk.”  
“You’d think at 25 he could handle his liquor now.” Realising my head did feel a little fuzzy, I placed my head to my temple to steady it.  
“Oh my god,” Yunho suddenly said, leaning forward and looking at me with incredulous eyes, “he was thinking about-“ In a split second I was in front of him.   
“I heard a rumour that if you even THINK about telling anyone what you just heard,” as my grip tightened on his collar, I noticed with grim satisfaction his eyes glaze over, “your dick will shrivel up and die.” Releasing him back with a thunk, I realised the whole room had fallen deathly silent. Even Hongjoong looked shocked.   
“Wow.” To my surprise, it was Wooyoung that spoke, the strange tinge of respect in his tone. “Looks like Seonghwa finally worked out how to use his power.” 

As I returned to my seat, everyone continued to stare at me. Yunho was still in the post trance daze - I noticed him glance down worriedly at his pants and scratch the back of his neck nervously.   
“What about you then Seonghwa?” Glancing upwards, I saw Mingi leaning forward, interest in his eyes. “What have you been up to in the last seven years?” My mind shifted rapidly through a plethora of different memories - most of them filled with despair and loneliness. Hongjoong shifted uncomfortably in his chair, as if he could somehow experience them with me.  
“Surely you must have had a whale of a time with the guys,” San piped up, “doing the whole ‘mind control’ thing”. My eyebrows furrowed. Sometimes I felt like the only member of the Umbrella Academy (with the exception of Hongjoong) with a conscience.   
“No.” I replied bluntly. I noticed at least three of my brothers sigh and exchange looks. “I don’t use my powers for personal gain.”   
“That’s a shocker.” Wooyoung eyed me callously. I saw years of ingrained bitterness etched in his gaze. “Righteous Number Three.”   
“Hey.” Suddenly Hongjoong spoke out. He looked at me briefly, then directed his attention to the rest. “Dad just died. Let’s not bring up the past.”  
“Well he started it!” Murmurs rang out and I felt my stomach twist. Hongjoong subtly touched my hand with his.  
“We should probably prepare for the service.” As everyone reluctantly rose to their feet, I stayed motionless in my spot on the couch. Even after all these years, I was still being punished for my beliefs - ostracised and mocked for simply caring about the lives of others. No matter how hard we tried, we couldn’t erase Father’s beliefs and teachings from our psyche. 

*

Once everyone had left the room, I had hauled myself to the kitchen and downed several ice cold glasses of water. There had been nothing useful in the fridge, so I had grasped a handful of stale crackers and was chewing on them with grim resignation as I entered the outside courtyard. We had done this one time before - for Mom. The memory of us all standing in a circle in the rain, staring down at her lifeless body in the coffin, was not one I wanted to remember, but it was hard not to bring it to the forefront of my mind.   
“This courtyard sucks.” Yunho said, responding to my thoughts without even having to read them. Even San and Mingi had quietened down slightly, now adjusting their suits and rocking their weight awkwardly from one foot to the other.  
“Where is Pogo?” Yeosang asked. I too had been wondering where our old friend was. It seemed that he would be conducting the service, and the time stated on the invitation was almost drawing near.   
He’ll be here.” Wooyoung replied, standing stoically at the head of the coffin - the place where Number 1 should have been.

“Hey,” suddenly I heard a voice beside me and saw Hongjoong had come to take his place at my left side. I noticed Yeosang and Yunho exchange looks, but ignored them and nodded my head in response. “Are you ok?” The words were supposed to be comforting, but instead they were like daggers to my heart.   
“I’m fine.” I murmured through gritted teeth, feeling anything but. I noticed the sun was still shrouded by clouds that hadn’t been there when I had arrived.   
“I tried contacting you,” Hongjoong took a step closer towards me, his voice hushed and his tone somewhat regretful, “but you never responded.” Another icy stab ripped through my body, but I clenched my fists and rode through it silently.   
“I never got anything,” I lied, “maybe you had the wrong number.”  
“Hwa…” I felt his fingers brush mine, but swiped my hand away callously. “When everyone left… did you…” My head flashed around, eyes accusatory and harsh.  
“ _What?_ ” Hongjoong looked guilty.   
“There’s parts I don’t remember, but parts…” His sentence fell short. I swallowed deeply and sighed.  
“You’re asking if I mind controlled you.”

*--*--*--*

October 1st 2007.

It was the day we had waited for for years, but suddenly as it was here I felt like I wasn’t ready. All around the house there were sounds of preparation. Yeosang was acting as everyone’s helper - zipping around the house collecting up things that everyone needed, whilst Mingi hauled around all the heavy furniture like it was nothing. I’m not sure what I had expected, but it hadn’t been for Father to suddenly disappear into thin air, leaving us all alone in the ancient house we had grown up in. Now it seemed we were fully adults, ready to descend into the world outside of the Umbrella Academy. 

“Hey, watch it!” Wooyoung sat on the sofa, angrily pouting and shouting at everyone at random intervals. He had just noticed Mingi being a little liberal with the globe drinks cabinet in the centre of the dining room. “That’s Dad’s!”  
“Well he’s not using it right now!” As the giant boy took a large swig of very expensive liquor, a bolt of electricity sudddenly shot out and hit him in the stomach, causing him to double over and spit the liquid onto the carpet.   
“HEY!” He complained, staring down at the wasted drink.  
“That’s NOT YOURS!” Wooyoung shouted back defensively. Suddenly Yunho appeared, swanning around in a dapper looking top hat and monocle.   
“Aww, is Number 2 missing Daddy already?” Wooyoung immediately clenched his fists ready for another attack. It was true, he did seem to be taking father’s disappearance a lot harder than the rest of us. Perhaps he didn’t know what to do now there was nobody to try and impress.   
“SHUT UP!” Another flash of electricity shot out, but Yunho already knew it was coming and simply stepped casually to the side. Wooyoung let out another anguished scream and jumped to his feet.   
“YOU’RE ALL ASSHOLES! GO TO HELL!” As he stormed off, Yunho and Mingi looked at each other, before bursting into a fit of giggles.   
“Wow, he’s really upset,” Yunho said in between snorts “does he really not want to leave that much?”  
“I can’t wait to get out of here.” Mingi replied.  
“Yeah, just think of all the girls out there - just waiting for us…” As both of my brothers looked wistfully into the air, I sighed and walked off towards the stairs. I would admit, I had mixed feelings about the end of my time here. Whilst the majority of me was ecstatic - there was a part that would miss all of us being together. Even if we sometimes hated each other. 

As I climbed up the ornate staircase, the faint sound of San clattering about in a suit of armour echoing down the hallway, I thought about how I would never have to complete combat training ever again, or listen to lectures on knife technique. When I made it to the library the smile on my face was positively bursting.   
“There you are.” Hongjoong was standing over by one of the bookshelves, looking intently at a specific section. I waltzed over and slipped my arms around his neck, resting my chin on his shoulder.  
“Hey you.” My brother briefly broke his attention away to tilt his head in my direction. When he recognised my voice, he smiled and grabbed hold of one of my hands.  
“Hey.”  
“Whatcha doing?” Turning my own gaze to the bookshelf, I saw he was fixed on the travel section.   
“I still can’t decide whether Thailand or Vietnam is better…” I looked back at his face and smiled at the adorable look of concentration fixed upon it.   
“Then let’s do both.” Hongjoong looked up at me in surprise.   
“Really?”  
“Sure, why not?” I replied happily, squeezing his hand in mine, “We can do anything we want now.” My brother’s mouth stretched into a smile.  
“I wish I could teleport like San,” he said, taking both books from the shelf and putting them in a stack to his right, “it would make things so much easier.”  
“But isn’t the fun part the journey?” Hongjoong turned around suddenly, making it so our bodies were facing each other, inches apart. His face was so close to mine I felt my cheeks turn scarlet.   
“True,” he said, reaching up to brush a stray hair from my face, “it is…”

“Hey! Guys!” All at once the mood in the air was broken. I jumped away from Hongjoong almost instinctively, making him laugh and follow me as I rushed to the doorway so see what was happening. Wooyoung was holding a piece of paper and waving it around excitedly.   
“Dad wrote us letters!” In an instant, both San and Yeosang appeared, eyeing the paper suspiciously.   
“What, for everyone?”   
“Yes! They’re on our beds!” Instantly both brothers disappeared. There was the sound of pushing, then paper being ripped.  
“Hey! That’s mine!”  
“Not if I read it first!” I looked back at Hongjoong and saw him looking as curious as I felt.  
“Come on, let’s go.” He said. I felt a hand grab mine and followed him towards the other room.

A letter? What could Father have to say to me? I imagined from Wooyoung’s expression that it has been a positive one - maybe a final recognition of all our academy achievements? Perhaps there was even a contact address for where he had disappeared to. When we entered our group bedroom San and Yeosang were still fighting over one of the letters - it was like a minefield trying to avoid bumping into them as they flitted about.   
“There.” Hongjoong stretched out his finger and I followed it to see two envelopes placed neatly on both of our beds. As I rushed up to mine I saw the words ‘Number Three’ written in neat, refined calligraphy.   
“It really was him…” I murmured to myself. Hongjoong had already grabbed hold of his letter and he looked at me apprehensively.  
“You ready?” I nodded and without further a do we tore open the paper. 

*

There was a rush of adrenaline as I began to read the first few words. It felt almost like the first time I had truly realised my power - the hearty thwack on the back father had given me as he told me I was gifted and could be moulded into something great. The adrenaline filled my whole body with uplifting energy… only to have it sap quickly away as I read further and further through the lines. No… this couldn’t be…

“Hwa?” Suddenly I realised Hongjoong was looking at me. The hand holding my letter had dropped to the floor, the rest of my body shaking as I struggled to process what I had just seen. “What does it say?”  
“I’m gonna be sick.” Avoiding my brother’s attempts to stop me, I pushed past him and ran, heart and legs pounding as I slammed shut the door behind me and sprinted towards the bathroom.

*

It took five reads before I finally believed what was in front of me.

_Dear Number Three,  
You have now reached the end of your time at the Umbrella Academy. Whilst I would like to commend you for your hard work and growth, I am sorry to say that you have continued throughout your eighteen years of life to disappoint me with your inability to see your true potential. I had thought that extensive training would allow your mind to expand, but it seems I was mistaken. _

_I have also noticed that you and Number Four have become close over the last few years. Please allow him to continue his own path, by removing yourself from him completely. It would be a shame for two gifted minds to be corrupted by false ideals of compassion instead of one, and I fear that if he stays around your negative influence, he will never be able to return from it._

_Please consider my advice for the sake of your brother._

_Reginald Hargreeves_

I felt myself sink slowly down the bathroom wall, the cold from the tiles seeping through my thin shirt and chilling me almost as much as the words had. Was this what he really thought? After eighteen years - all I was to him was a failure and a corruption? I felt like my lungs had been removed - I could no longer breathe and was suffocated by my inadequacy. Water suddenly began streaming down my face and I realised I was crying.

Suddenly loud bangs on the bathroom door awakened me.

“Hwa?” It was Hongjoong. Balling up my fists, I let out a loud sob, which made the bangs on the door louder.  
“Hwa! If you don’t open the door in five seconds I’m going to get Mingi to do it!” The devotion in his voice only made the ache in my gut larger. I debated letting my other brother destroy the woodwork in a small attempt at defying my patriarchy, but eventually Hongjoong’s desperate shouts got the better of me and I hauled myself upwards to open the door. 

*

When the door was finally open, Hongjoong looked almost as distraught as I was.   
“What happened?” I couldn’t form a reply. Instead, I simply pulled my brother inside, shut and locked the door, and collapsed into him. My unexpected weight sent us tumbling to the floor, but I didn’t care. My arms reached out and threaded themselves around his body, clinging desperately to whatever I could as the tears gushed out of me like a monsoon. I couldn’t stop - the despair all consuming and suffocating. 

Realising the situation, Hongjoong held me just as close, rocking out bodies from side to side until very gradually the grief began to subside. I felt like a child, desperately clinging to the hopes from my past, that were all now slipping away because of one, callous, letter.   
“Hwa…” He said again. The memory of that nickname was one that had kept me going on many cold nights - now it just made me sob harder and clutch tighter. When he finally had enough ability to pull my face away from his chest, he held it in his hands and looked at me.  
“Hwa, what was in your letter?” I couldn’t tell him. Even though we shared every secret, this was something my brother could not bear with me. I went to start crying again but he shook his head and stopped me. “It’s ok…what was in the letter?” 

Suddenly I felt a surge of strength. Sitting up, I removed Hongjoong’s hands from my face, taking him by surprise.   
“It was nothing,” I said. Hongjoong looked unconvinced, so I grabbed hold of his hands again, “It was nothing…” As our lips connected, he was shocked at first, but soon he responded. I grabbed hold of his face and pulled it closely to me, kissing him deeper than I ever had before. It was a quiet moment of clarity in a sea of emotions. 

When we eventually broke away, Hongjoong was breathing heavily. I kept my hands on either side of his face so he couldn’t look away.  
“I love you,” I said. His eyes looked back at me, filled with emotion and happiness. “I love you so much…”  
“I love you too,” he began to say, but I kissed him again to silence the words.  
“Hongjoong,” the words were hard to say, but I knew I had to get them out. My brother looked back at me with devotion and my stomach twisted and clenched once more. “I can’t leave with you today.”

“What?” This time I had to hold his face a little harder.  
“It’s for your own good,” I said. Even though I didn’t want to believe the words, I had to. For his sake…  
“What do you mean?” Now Hongjoong sounded upset. He tried to remove my hands, brushing his own against my cheek so I bit my lip and let out an anguished whimper.   
“If we’re together, I’ll only hold you back. I can’t let you suffer…”  
“Suffer? Hwa, we said we’d always be together!” I could feel my emotions taking over, so knew I had to finish quickly. Hongjoong’s eyes were filled with tears and his voice now held anger as well as sadness.  
“Is this about what Dad said in his letter? Seonghwa, I won’t let him tear us apart - I need you in my life!”   
“DON’T!” At my shout my brother stopped, the heavy rising and falling of his chest now from despair instead of happiness. I took another deep breath and spoke again.  
“I’m sorry. But I have to do this.” I steadied my grip on the side of his face, looking into his eyes and hating myself. “I heard a rumour-“

“ **-NO!** ” My hands were knocked away, Hongjoong screaming as he scrambled away from me. I tried to follow but he kicked out his foot and made me lose my balance.   
“Hongjoong!”   
“I WON’T LET YOU!” As my brother got to his feet, I dragged myself up too, rushing over as he tried to unlock the bathroom door and escape.   
“Stop.” I grabbed his arm, but he pulled it downwards so I stumbled forward. It was a move I recognised well from combat training.   
“I don’t want to do this…” he said, “but I won’t let you make me forget.” In my desperation, I kicked my leg out and watched his knee buckle - suddenly I was fighting the only person I had ever truly loved.   
“You don’t have a choice.” 

We began a harrowing struggle - neither of us wanting to throw the punches, but feeling like we had to. Hongjoong was stronger than me, but I was faster. Eventually I pinned him to the floor and watched him struggle beneath me.  
“NO!” He screamed, breaking my heart into a thousand pieces, “NO!” Placing my hands either side of his face, I saw him scrunch his eyes shut, tossing his head backwards and forwards to stop me looking at him.  
“Hongjoong,” I said calmly, suddenly filled with a feeling I had never felt before, “open your eyes.” My brother instantly obeyed. I had never controlled anyone without the phrase before.   
“No…” He murmured, but less confident now, his eyes already glazing over as I felt my power waft over him. Now was my chance.

“I heard a rumour…” Now Hongjoong was barely struggling. His hands lay limply by his sides, no longer pawing at me to let him go. In this state he looked almost peaceful. With another deep breath I continued my speech.  
“…that we were best friends. But nothing more. We remembered all the fun times we had had, but decided to go our separate ways on our eighteenth birthday. You never loved me.” Feeling my own hands now shaking uncontrollably, I let my brother go, watching him fall to the floor and feeling my heart rip in two. 

I had saved him, just like Father had wanted. But at what cost.

———

A cold swirl of wind made its way underneath the high collar of my shirt, causing a shiver to run through me.   
“Well?” Hongjoong was still looking at me expectantly - a gaze I had longed to see, but now couldn’t bear to feel the pressure of. “Did you?”  
“Of course not,” I said, turning my face away from him haughtily, “I would never do that to you.”

Suddenly Pogo appeared. It was strange to see him after all this time, even more so in the circumstance we were all in. With his arrival, all conversations were halted - we watched him walk slowly towards the coffin and clear his throat.  
“Thank you all for coming today.” The sky was quiet. Only the distant sound of bird calls could be heard, along with the faint sound of eight souls breathing.   
“We are here to commemorate the life of Mr Reginald Hargreeves - a devoted father and mentor to eight wonderful-“

All at once there was a loud explosion. Yeosang and Wooyoung were thrown backwards, all of us letting out a shout. Without thinking Hongjoong gripped hold of my hand and we watched with fear in our eyes as a portal appeared in the sky above.  
“What is that?!” It seemed to be some kind of gateway - figures and structures were visible on the other side, but were too hazy to fully distinguish. As Pogo tried to calm us all down suddenly I saw something beginning to come into focus.  
“Someone’s coming!” There was another flash of light, then a figure shot out and hurtled towards the ground with a crash. 

For a second nobody spoke. Our vision was all still blinded by the light, so it took a while for us to reorient and look at who (or what) had fallen from the portal. The sky was now completely back to normal, almost as if nothing had ever happened.   
“Stay back,” Mingi said, bravely stepping forward and holding out his hands, ready to shield us from whatever was to come. The figure on the ground was hunched, but as they groaned and began to haul themselves to their feet, I noticed a shock of flaming red hair.   
“It can’t be…” Yunho breathed in sharply, his hand flying up to his mouth in complete shock. “Jongho?”  
“Wow that hurt.” Our long lost brother, Number One, straightened his collar and flattened down the top of his hair, flexing his neck from side to side and then looking at us with a smile. “Hey guys.”

“What the hell?!” None of us had seen Jongho for years - he had disappeared one day and nobody had ever found him, no matter how hard we had searched. Father had announced him dead and we had carried on a life as seven brothers instead of eight. But now he was here.

“I guess you didn’t miss me.” The red haired boy was smiling, amused by his own joke and immune to the fact we were all looking at him with a mixture of horror and amazement. “Yes, I was stuck in the future," he continued, "but we have more important things to worry about right now. Like the end of the world.” I blinked my eyes several times, trying to work out if I was dreaming.  
“The end of the world?” As Jongho turned to look at me, the severity now in his expression strangely reflected that of Father's.   
“Yes, the end. In precisely seven days. And we are the only ones that can stop it.”

Well...perfect


End file.
